Spirit of Yorkshire proves to be tonic in a glass

Now the region can add its first gin to the feast thanks to Bedale couple Karl and Catherine Mason, who are bringing distilling back to the region after creating their own artisan spirit, Mason’s Yorkshire Gin.

The first batch of the drink, made with Harrogate spring water, has nearly sold out less than a week after its launch.

“We’re not doing this to become the next Bombay Sapphire or Gordon’s,” said Mr Mason. “We want to make to make a quality Yorkshire product that we’re happy to put our name to.

“There has never been a Yorkshire gin and I wanted to be the first person to make one.

“My wife and I are launching this because it’s our passion.”

So determined are the couple to make an authentic Yorkshire product that they are having a traditional copper still made so they can produce the spirit from a workshop in the North Yorkshire market town’s Craft Yard.

They placed the order after they were unable to find a distiller in the region to make the drink.

“They have all closed down, so we will be moving distilling back into the region,” said Mr Mason.

They first few batches are being made out of the county while the still is handmade by coppersmiths in Scotland.

“It is to our recipe – done in exactly the same way we’ll be doing it. And we’re using Harrogate spring water, so we’ve been making a Yorkshire product from day one,” said Mr Mason.

The couple, both 46, hope to start making the gin themselves in around three months.

Eventually they plan to use as many homegrown ingredients as possible, including juniper berries – the primary flavouring of gin – from their own garden.

“They’re currently sprouting in pots. We’re hoping to use those from next year,” said Mr Mason.

“What we’ll then try to do is source and grow as many of the botanicals as we can ourselves.”

The exact blend of botanicals – the herbs, spices, fruits and roots that give gins their distinctive taste – is a closely-guarded secret that varies from maker to maker.

The distilling process is generally the same, however.

“Ours is created from sugar beet – that’s used to create a mash, which ferments to create your base alcohol,” said Mr Mason.

“That then goes into the still and it’s distilled into a purer form of alcohol. Then it’s distilled again and you add your botanicals.”

The drinks business is a new venture for Mr Mason, managing director of Ripon publishing firm Open Doors Media, and his wife, a teaching assistant for children with special educational needs.

“We have still got a lot to learn but people in the industry are very helpful. They allow you to pick their brains and you can pick it up as you go along,” he said.

The recipe underwent dozens of tweaks before it was perfected.

“We’ve had many a tasting session with friends and colleagues round our house, but some of the tastings we’ve carried out on strangers so you know you get an honest opinion,” he said.

“Everyone has assured us we’ve got the recipe right.”

Bottles – each hand-labelled and batch-numbered – have been flying off the shelves since its launch on World Gin Day last Saturday, with around 90 per cent of the first release now sold.

It is currently gin of the week at Leeds hotel The New Ellington’s Gin Garden bar, which stocks more than 100 varieties of the spirit. Other stockists include the Lounge Bar and Grill in Leeds and Northallerton food and drinks emporium Lewis and Cooper.

Gin has shed its “mother’s ruin” image to enjoy a renaissance in recent years, and craft distilling is also enjoying a boom.

Jake Burger, owner of Jake’s Bar in Leeds, which has a still room, and the Portobello Star in London, which makes its own award-winning Portobello Road gin, said it was a welcome trend.

“It’s relatively new to the UK but the more the merrier,” he said.

“It’s good to take distilling out of the hands of the big multinational companies. They give us some wonderful products – but craft distilling gives more flexibility.

“The botanicals used by the independent end of the sector are a little more innovative.”